Clothes line assembly



Nov. 2, 1965 A. LEO

CLOTHES LINE ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 31, 1964 INVENTOR- ifie :1 L E c United States Patent 3,215,279 CLOTHES LINE ASSEMBLY Angelo Leo, Ludlow, Mass., assignor of two-thirds to Paul Gartrell and Emilia Gartrell, jointly, both of Springfield, Mass.

Filed Aug. 31, 1964, Ser. No. 393,332 3 Claims. (Cl. 211-11915) This invention is concerned with clothes line construction of the type having a plurality of lines arranged in parallel relationship and having for its primary object a plurality of component parts that are easy to assemble and adjust.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a means for supporting a plurality of parallel clothes lines in a safe manner.

Still another object of this invention is to provide means for maintaining a plurality of parallel clothes lines taut even under the weight of wet clothes.

An additional object of the within invention is to provide a central support means for maintaining the clothes line in rigid position and also enabling the support members to maintain their vertical, angular position.

The aforementioned objects as well as other objects are obtained by the use of two vertical members which are adjustably mounted within fixed base members. Connected to these vertical members is in adjustable horizontal member. At the top of the vertical members is a U- shaped clamp which permits the rope supporting members to be permanently secured therein and yet permits them to be adjusted to take up the slack in the ropes.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is more fully described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the clothes line assembly. i

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side elevational, diagrammatic view of one of the vertical members showing the details of the various adjustable features.

' FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of a portion of a bar for taking up the slack in the rope.

' FIGURE 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of the central horizontal supporting member.

' FIGURE 5 is an exploded top view of a hook attached to a rope-supporting member.

The clothes .line assemblyshown in FIGURE 1 comprises the vertical tubes 21. Beneath the vertical tubes 21 are the base tubes 22 which are sufliciently larger in diameter than tubes 21 and permit tubes 21 to be inserted therein as showri by the dotted lines in the view of FIGURE 2.

Attached through an opening at the top of the base tubes 22 are the set screw bolts 9 which lock the vertical tubes 21 into a pre-determined position, enabling the height of same to be adjusted. The base tubes 22 are mounted in cement blocks 23. It is contemplated that the cement blocks will be buried in the ground. The weight of the cement blocks buried in the ground anchors the assembly of the two members 21 and 22 in a rigid and firm position. Mounted at the top of the vertical tube 21 is the L-shaped metal plate 25 which forms a U- shaped member as seen in FIGURE 2. The two L-shaped members 25 may be welded togeher as at 8. It is contemplated that the members 25 may be made of one integral piece of steel shaped in the form of a U. Mounted at the top of one portion of the L-shaped member 25 is an L-shaped set screw 27 which is threaded to the inside opening of L-shaped member 25 and can be turned therein to come in contact with the horizontal rope supporting tube 2 or 3 as the case may be.

There is a member which may be referred to as the horizontal brace or tube which consists of two portions, 16

3,215,279 Patented Nov. 2, 1965 and 17. Both 16 and 17 are tubular in shape as can be seen in the view of FIGURE 5. There is a sleeve 7 which is larger in diameter than the two sections 16 and 17. As can be seen in the view of FIGURE 5, the segments 16 and 17 are locked into position within the sleeve 7 by the set screw or set bolt 9 similarly as the L-shaped screw 27 locks the members 2 and 3 aforementioned. One of the sections 17 in the embodiment shown is welded into the collar 7 at 8 but could be locked into position as at 9. At each end of the horizontal member 16-17 is a collar 18. The collar 18 is welded at 8, one to the member 17 and one to the member 16. There is within the collar 18 a set screw bolt 9 similar to the set screw bolt 9 in the collar 7 locking the ends of the members 16 and 17 respectively into secure engagement.

There are two members 28 which are tubes that come to a flattened point at 5, wherein the opening 6 is located. The opening 6 is sufliciently large to enable the anchor bolt 4 to pass therethrough. The anchor bolt 4 has threads thereon which are in threaded engagement with the opening 6 in the shaft support 26 thereby securing the assembly 16, 17 and 28 to the assembly 25-26 (shown in the view of FIGURE 2). On the tube 2 is mounted hooks 10. The hooks 10 are shown in an enlarged view in FIGURE 5. There is a hook head 12 which is fiat and prevents the books from passing through the opening 19 in the tubular member 2. Attached to the hook 10 is a rope 1 which is knotted at 11.

A rope 1 passes from the hooks 10 over and through an opening 20 in the horizontal rope-supporting member 3. When the rope 1 passes through the opennig 20 it is knotted (not shown) and this prevents the rope from being pulled through the opening 20 under tension. There is a pin 13 having eyelets 14 which acts as a rope stop at the end of the tube 3 when the tubular member 3 is rotated to take up the slack in the ropes.

The assembly for the clothes line is shipped in a knocked-down container. All of the parts are disassembled. When the parts are assembled, the first step in operating the clothes line is to dig a hole and insert the concrete blocks 23 in the ground. The holes should be spaced apart sufliciently so that the blocks will be approximately the distance of the member 16-17-28. Since the components are adjustable within the collars 7 and 8, the distance is not too critical. Once the concrete blocks have been placed in the ground with the base tubes 22 in an upright position, the vertical tubes 21 are placed into position within the tubes 22 and locked to a pre-determined height within the set bolts 9. The horizontal member 16-17-28 as shown in FIGURE 5 is then assembled.

The horizontal suppor assembly which is shown in FIG- URE 5 comes in four separates parts. The flattened end 28 comes in two parts. The collar 8 is welded to the tube 17 as is the collar 7 and comes in another parts. The tube 16 is welded to the collar 18. In order to assemble the horizontal member, the tube 28 is inserted within the collar 18 and locked into position by bolt 9 thereby connecting tube 28 to the member 17. Similarly, the tube 28 is connected to the member 16. The two sections are then connected together in the sleeve 7 by locking the set bolt 9.

When these parts have been made integral, the openings 5 are aligned above the opening in the shaft support 26 and then threaded bolt 4 is threaded into position thereby securing the horizontal assembly of FIGURE 5 with the tops of each of the vertical tubes 21. The basic frame has now been assembled.

The clothes line supporting members are then placed in position in the representative L-shaped or U clamps 2526. Once they are in position they are locked securely by the L-shaped bolts 27. The tube 2 has hooks thereupon while the tube 3 has openings thereon. Separate ropes are attached and knotted to the hooks and pass throughthe openings and are knotted. If the ropes 1 are slack, then the tube 3 is turned within the U-shaped clamp -26 so that the rope completely or partially circumscribes the tube 3 as shown in FIGURE 3. The L-shaped bolt 27 then secures tube 3 permanently into position in the U-shaped clamp 25-26.

The clothes line is then completely assembled and ready for operation as a clothes line. When there is slack in the ropes 1, the tube is rotated as shown in FIGURE 3. The bolt 27 is loosened, the tube 3 is rotated, and the clamp 27 is tightened.

Aluminum has been found to be the best type of material to employ in the parts. Other types of strong, lightweight material may be used also without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

In consideration of the foregoing; I claim:

1. A clothesline assembly comprising two vertical base members, a separate vertical member for each base member, means for adjustably locking said separate vertical members in each of said base members, a horizontal rope tubular member, means mounted on the tops of said vertical members for receiving said rope tubular member and a horizontal means for interconnecting the tops of said vertical members, said horizontal means for interconnecting the tops of said vertical member comprising a sleeve, two separate hollow sections, one of each being inserted on each side of said sleeve, means for securing said hollow sections permanently within said sleeve, a first collar and a second collar, said first collar without one end of one section and said second collar without the other end of the other section, means within said collars wherein said collars may be locked, each of the said section, two flat sections within said first and second collars, means on said flat sections whereby the tops of said vertical members may be connected to the said horizontal means.

2. A clothesline assembly comprising twohollow vertical base members, separate hollow vertical members adapted to fit within each of said vertical base members, means on said base members for securing in locked engagement the said vertical members, a horizontal tubular member, U-shaped means mounted at the top of said vertical base members, said horizontal tubular member within said U-shaped means, means mounted in said U-shaped means for locking said horizontal tubular member within said U-shaped means and ropes connected between each of said horizontal tubular members, horizontal means for interconnecting the tops of said vertical members comprising a sleeve, two separate hollow sections, one of each being inserted on each side of said sleeve, means for securing said hollow sections permanently within said sleeve, a first collar and a second collar, said first collar 'without one end of one section and said second collar without the other end of the other section, means within said collars wherein said collars may be locked, each to the said section, two flat sections within said first and second collars, means on said flat sections whereby the tops of said vertical members may be connected to the said horizontal means.

3. A clothesline assembly comprising two vertical base members, two separate vertical members, both said base members and said vertical members being hollow, said base members being large enough: for said vertical members to be inserted therein, locking means on said base members for securing in fixed position each of said vertical members in each of said base members, a U-shaped clamp arranged at the top of each vertical member, a horizontal rope tubular member, said horizontal rope tubular member adapted to be connected within said U-shaped clamp, a locking bolt arrangement for permanently securing said tubular member within said U-shaped clamp, a plurality of hook means mounted on one of said horizontal tubular members, a plurality of openings within another of said horizontal tubular members mounted in the other of said vertical members, a plurality of ropes interconnected between said hooks and said opening means, horizontal means for interconnecting the tops of said vertical members comprising a sleeve, two separate hollow sections, one of each being inserted on each side of said sleeve, means for securing said hollow sections permanently within said sleeve, a first collar and a second collar, said first collar without one 'end of one section and said second collar without the other end of the other section, means within said collars wherein said collars may be locked, each to the said section, two flat sections within said first and second collars, means on said flat sections whereby the tops of said vertical members may be connected to the said horizontal means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 840,267 1/07 Stebbins 211-119.02 985,485 2/11 Willard 211--119.1 1,760,066 5/30 Jones 287-54 X 2,399,070 4/46 Swanson 21l119.15 2,664,211 12/53 Lindstrom 211-119.15 2,769,554 11/56 Bodine 2111 19.15 2,780,365 2/57 Trainer 21187 3,085,692 4/63 Lowe 2111 19.15

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner. CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Examiner, 

1. A CLOTHESLINE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING TWO VERTICAL BASE MEMBERS, A SEPARATE VERTICAL MEMBER FOR EACH BASE MEMBER, MEANS FOR ADJUSTABLY LOCKING SAID SEPARATE VERTICAL MEMBERS IN EACH OF SAID BASE MEMBERS, A HORIZONTAL ROPE TUBULAR MEMBER, MEANS MOUNTED ON THE TOPS OF SAID VERTICAL MEMBERS FOR RECEIVING SAID ROPE TUBULAR MEMBER AND A HORIZONTAL MEANS FOR INTERCONNECTING THE TOPS OF SAID VERTICAL MEMBERS, SAID HORIZONTAL MEANS FOR INTERCONNECTING THE TOPS OF SAID VERTICAL MEMBER COMPRISING A SLEEVE, TWO SEPARATE HOLLOW SECTIONS, ONE OF EACH BEING INSERTED ON EACH SIDE OF SAID SLEEVE, MEANS FOR SECURING SAID HOLLOW SECTIONS PERMANENTLY WITHIN SAID SLEEVE, A FIRST COLLAR AND A SECOND COLLAR, SAID FIRST COLLAR WITHOUT ONE END OF ONE SECTION AND SAID SECOND COLLAR WITHOUT THE OTHER END OF THE OTHER SECTION, MEANS WITHIN 